Prince William Frederick
Prince William Frederick, Duke of Ironwood William V (William Frederick; 16 June 1815 – 31 March 1863) was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and King of Hanover from 20 June 1837 until his abdication the following year, whereupon he became the Duke of Ironwood. The only son of William IV, William succeeded his father, becoming the last king and penultimate monarch of Britain's House of Hanover. William was the eldest son of King William IV and Queen Adelaide. He was named Prince of Wales on his sixteenth birthday, a year after his father succeeded as king. As a young man, he served in the British Navy and undertook several overseas tours on behalf of his father. King of Great Britain William became king on his father's death in summer 1837. At the time, he was first in line to the throne and his cousin, later Victoria I, was second in line. However, he showed impatience with court protocol, and caused concern among politicians by his apparent disregard for established constitutional conventions. Only months into his reign, he caused a constitutional crisis by proposing to marry his lover Queen Maria, a native queen from the Americas, and divorcing his wife, Queen Elizabeth. The prime ministers of the United Kingdom and the Dominions opposed the marriage, arguing a colored woman with no legal standing or recognized sovereignty was politically and socially unacceptable as a prospective queen consort. Additionally, such a marriage would have conflicted with William's status as the titular head of the Church of England, which at the time disapproved both of miscegenation and divorce. Edward knew the British government, led by Prime Minister William Melbourne, would resign if the marriage went ahead, which could have forced a general election and would ruin his status as a politically neutral constitutional monarch. When it became apparent he could not marry Maria and remain on the throne, William abdicated. He was succeeded by his cousin, Victoria I. With a reign of 284 days, William is one of the shortest-reigning monarchs in British history. Duke of Ironwood After his abdication, he was created Duke of Ironwood. He took leave to reside with his lover, Maria, in the Carribean. His wife, Princess Elisabeth of Prussia stayed in Europe without him. Here, Maria bore him a daughter, Mercy, and they enjoyed a happy union until 1853, when William departed with his son Leopold, as well as his estranged wife, to the United States. By 1854, he returned to Europe with British entry into the Crimean War and persuaded the Queen to allow himself and his son to participate in the fight. William Frederick was not so lucky, and suffered a blow to the leg near Alma, and was outfitted with a mechanical leg. This moved the leadership so greatly that they allowed him to serve along with high ranked command. With the end of this war in 1856, William Frederick negotiates with the new tsar of Russia, Alexander II, in the Congress of Princes. He briefly returns to the Leewards, whereupon he brings his daughter Mercy to Europe, ending his affair with Maria. Death As part of his plan to destroy Edmund Belfry, William Frederick, frames him for his own assasination. In reality, William Frederick has his butler and half brother Henry carry out the assasination, then admit that it was Belfry who paid him to do so. Upon his death, the Dukedom of Ironwood passes to his son Prince Leopold.